Clanless (Nameless #2)(36)
Boar eyed her with about as much trust as he might a snake. “Something like that.”
“She’s my sister,” Tess whispered. “She’s good.”
How could the word of one little girl wield so much power? But then, Tess was so pure, so innocent, that if she bestowed her trust, then perhaps he should too.
“I’ll talk. But you must give your word to let me free.”
Zo should have talked the decision over with Stone, but said, “Agreed. So long as you help us get our people back.”
Stone sounded as if he was gagging on a tough piece of meat, but Zo ignored him and gave Boar every ounce of her attention.
“We’re starving,” the Clanless said with a shrug of his shoulders. “When we can’t find animals to hunt, we take people.”
“I don’t understand,” said Tess. She secured a bandage to his cheek and sat back with arms folded. “How would stealing people make you less hungry?”
“Meat,” was his only reply.
Stone stood up and walked over, rage vibrated off his skin. “You filthy, disgusting—”
“Joshua,” Zo snapped, jumping up to hold Stone at bay. “Take Tess to bed. It’s been a long day.”
“But—I didn’t do the blessing,” Tess protested as Joshua scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of flour.
“I’ll take care of the blessing,” Zo lied.
Tess parted the blond hair that fell into her face and waved a “goodnight” to Boar.
Boar’s eyes tracked her as she left the campfire with Joshua. “She’s so innocent,” he said. “Are all children so … pure?”
Zo ignored the question.
“Are you telling me that these people you took tonight are meant to be a meal?” She must have misunderstood him. Humans didn’t debase themselves to that level.
Boar’s whole demeanor shifted. He stared down his nose at her and said, “You have no idea what it’s like. Having to fight for every little thing in life. A bit of bread, a handful of berries, a morsel of meat.” He scoffed, “Even a soft spot to lay our heads comes with a price.”
“But to eat … people?” Zo held the back of her hand to her mouth and fought a violent gag reflex. She trembled to think that she’d let Tess near him!
Stone landed another fist to Boar’s face, this time knocking him onto his back. Then he kicked him in the side twice before Zo stopped him. As disgusting as Boar was, killing him wouldn’t bring Stone’s people back.
Boar groaned and spat a mouthful of blood at Stone’s boots. He turned to Zo. “Have you ever been hungry, healer? Really hungry?”
“Hasn’t everyone?”
Boar’s chest filled with wind and he barked, “No! No one but the Clanless really know what it’s like to feel like Ram spears are jabbing at your innards ALL. THE. TIME. It’s all we can think about. Look at me,” he demanded. “I wasn’t always an animal. I have no family. No home. Nothing to love. Nothing to protect but myself. And I’m so tired of being hungry.”
Zo studied the man with a more critical eye, beyond the tattered clothes and messy hair. His eyes were sunken, his arms and legs, though wired with some muscle, were bare of any excess fat. The gums around his yellow teeth were pale instead of a healthy pink.
“Are our people dead?” asked Zo, solemnly.
The man shook his head. “We felled an elk a week ago. We’re still living off that for a time, but people don’t usually travel through these parts, and our leader didn’t want to waste … resources, just in case. Spring comes late in the mountains. We’re desperate.”
There was no justification for trading your humanity. Whoever these men were, they were the darkest kind of evil. Zo had never heard of the Clanless banding together in large groups. How many of them were there? Enough to terrorize this group all the way to the Allies?
“I’ve heard that the Clanless like to barter. Could we make a trade?” she said.
Boar studied her and then looked over at Stone. “S’possible. Depends on what you’re willing to part with.” Boar licked his lips, as if the idea gave him pleasure.
Stone crouched in front of Boar and jabbed his knife into a patch of grass at the bound man’s feet. “Let’s make this happen. How do we arrange a trade?”
Chapter 13
Gryphon, Sani, and the rest of the Raven warriors slid down from their hiding place in the trees to cross the Ram’s barbaric bridge. They kept to the shadows, their fluid movements swallowed up by the echo of crashing waves below and the destruction of Raven homes behind them.
It wouldn’t be long before Barnabas’s men discovered the island empty and the grain stores wasted.
At the head of each felled tree bridge stood a Ram sentry, left to ensure no one escaped—a tactical mistake on Barnabas’ part. One mess unit should have been left behind, not single men spread apart without the protection of a phalanx. It wasn’t like Barnabas to be so careless guarding his rear.
The Raven at Gryphon’s side stretched their bows and each took aim at a different sentry. Gryphon searched wildly through the thick foliage for any sign of danger. “Something’s not right,” he whispered to Sani.